Heavy buyings on Astra shares lift JSX index

Heavy buyings on Astra shares lift JSX index

Dow Jones, Jakarta

Indonesian shares ended higher on Wednesday led by foreign buying
in automotive company Astra International ahead of its ex-
dividend date on Thursday, dealers said.

They said foreign investors, who were active buyers, also
bought shares in certain mining and infrastructure-related blue
chips on expectations of improved earnings this year.

"Today's gains could reflect that foreign investors'
underlying sentiment for Indonesian shares remains positive,"
said a fund manager with Paramitra Securities.

The positive sentiment is supported by the buoyant Indonesian
economy, which the government expects to expand by 6 percent this
year, compared with 5.4 percent in 2004.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite index Wednesday ended up
1.2 percent, or 13.69 points, at 1,119.58 points.

Gainers led decliners 96 to 27, with 67 stocks unchanged.
Volume was 1.87 billion shares valued at Rp 1.6 trillion,
compared with 1.05 billion shares valued at Rp 912 billion on
Tuesday.

Astra International jumped 4.8 percent to Rp 13,100 on the
company's plan to pay a Rp 270 a share dividend and expectations
of improved first-half earnings due to an increase in car and
motorcycle sales.

Heavy equipment company Komatsu Indonesia rose 4.4 percent to
Rp 4,175 and rival United Tractors ended 4.2 percent higher at Rp
3,700 on expectations of improved earnings this year due to
higher sales of heavy equipment for infrastructure projects.

Also higher was Indonesian Satellite, which added 1.9 percent
to Rp 5,500 on news it will issue up to $250 million worth of
bonds to help finance its business expansion plan.

Profit-taking hit food maker Indofood Sukses Makmur, which
dropped 2.5 percent to Rp 1,190 after gains in the previous four
sessions.

Dealers said they expect the market to trade higher on follow-
through buying in Astra International.

On the currency market, the rupiah closed slightly higher,
likely on capital inflows into government bonds and the dollar's
failure to make further gains versus major rivals, dealers said.

The dollar closed at Rp 9,605, down a tad from its close on
Tuesday at Rp 9,609.

Dealers said they detected some inflows of funds, likely
linked to the issuance of Rp 3.85 trillion of bonds by the
government Tuesday, which were reported to have caught the
interest of foreign investors.

Dealers said the dollar lost ground against the rupiah as it
stalled against most major global currencies.

But, the dollar's slide was slowed by demand from state banks,
who likely bought the unit on behalf of the state-owned oil
company Pertamina, which is tasked to import petroleum products.

The current high price of oil globally is sustaining dollar
demand from Pertamina.

Dealers said they expect the dollar to trade between Rp 9,580
and Rp 9,625 on Thursday.